America the bountiful

12:01AM GMT 05 Jan 2005

George W. Bush may have been slow off the mark in reacting to the Indian Ocean tsunami, but he has since made up for lost time. His administration has committed $350 million to disaster relief; Colin Powell, the Secretary of State, and Jeb Bush, the President's brother and Governor of Florida, are touring the area; former presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton are leading fund-raising campaigns; one naval strike group is already in action off Indonesia, ferrying food, water, medicines and tents to outlying areas, and another is on its way.

As might be expected of the world's only superpower, America is now at the forefront in delivering emergency aid.

Yet it has not escaped criticism, notably from Jan Egeland, the United Nations under-secretary for humanitarian affairs, and from Clare Short, the former international development secretary.

Mr Egeland accused rich countries of being stingy towards the developing world - though he later praised America for doing a "phenomenal job" in tsunami relief.

Miss Short charged Washington with seeking to undermine the UN by announcing it would co-ordinate its disaster relief with Australia, India and Japan, rather than through the world body, which alone had the "moral authority" for the task.

Yet a coalition of the willing that can deliver aid promptly is surely preferable to the cumbersome procedures of the UN. The latter has a role, but it lies more in the rebuilding of coastal communities than the immediate priority of saving lives. And if the world body feels cold-shouldered by its most powerful member, it should reflect on its inadequate response to the challenge posed by Saddam Hussein, indeed on allegations that its officials were corrupted by that tyrant through the oil-for-food programme.

Pace Miss Short, Mr Bush is setting out less to undermine the UN than to put America's best foot forward in a region where the invasion of Iraq has been widely unpopular and where, in the case of Indonesia, Islamic terrorists have shown their mettle.

It may seem depressing that a natural catastrophe should so soon become politicised. But the litmus test should be effectiveness, and there Washington and its allies are proving their worth.